New GSMA Report Highlights How 5G, Artificial Intelligence and IoT
Will Transform the Americas

Impacting Multiple Sectors, Intelligent Connectivity Set to Transform
Region; Americas to Have 260 Million 5G Connections by 2025

September 12, 2018 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the 2018 Mobile World Congress Americas, the GSMA today issued a new
report, ‘Intelligent Connectivity: How the Combination of 5G, AI and
IoT Is Set to Change the Americas,’ highlighting how the region is
set to benefit from the age of ‘intelligent connectivity’ or the fusion
of high-speed 5G networks, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet
of Things (IoT). The in-depth report, which draws on interviews with
senior representatives from mobile operators including AT&T, Rogers and
Sprint, outlines the key sectors that will benefit most from intelligent
connectivity, including entertainment, transportation and manufacturing.

GSMA Intelligence forecasts that the number of 5G connections globally
will reach 1.3 billion by 2025, covering 40 percent of the world’s
population or approximately 2.7 billion people. At that time, the
Americas region is expected to account for over 260 million 5G
connections or 20 percent of the global market.

“Intelligent connectivity will have a significant and positive impact on
individuals, industry and society, marking the beginning of a new era
defined by highly contextualised and personalised experiences,”
commented Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA. “Augmented and virtual
reality will change the way we watch live sports and music concerts,
drones will deliver packages to our homes, while virtual personal
assistants will manage our lives for us. New 5G networks, AI and the
upscaling of the Internet of Things will change the world, intelligently
connecting everyone and everything to a better future.”

Intelligent Transportation

The new report highlights how intelligent connectivity will impact the
future of transportation, enabling safer and smoother travel. It
outlines how 5G networks and AI systems will communicate the location of
vehicles, bicycles and people in real time, reducing the chance of
accidents or collisions. Data on the weather, surface conditions, road
works or congestion can be relayed in real time from a cyclist’s helmet
and, when combined with AI, could help road users plot better routes. 5G
enabled systems will also enhance driving by monitoring the behaviour of
adjacent vehicles and responding accordingly, such as applying the
brakes, as well as automatically calling for assistance in the event of
accidents. 5G will also usher in an era of reliable self-driving
vehicles, such as autonomous trucks that travel in convoys or platoons
and taxis to take you safely home.

“IoT is helping to pave the way towards 5G, with deployments of
Low-Power Wide-Area networks on the road to massive IoT. Advances with
5G critical communications and enhanced mobile broadband will bring
increasing opportunity in the IoT, including connected cars, smart homes
and cities, connected health and more. Intelligent connectivity
technology will transform the way we live and work every day,” says
Susan A. Johnson, executive vice president, Global Connections & Supply
Chain, AT&T.

Seamless Entertainment

5G promises to fundamentally change the way we consume entertainment,
delivering 4K and 8K ultra-high-definition video, 3D video, holograms,
augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications for gaming
and immersive TV, as well as digital services and content for connected
stadia. Music or live sports events could be broadcast from an athlete’s
or artist’s point of view with spectators able to access multiple camera
angles or replays on different screens or see overlayed information on
VR headsets – all from the comfort of their home. Video games will
become more immersive and realistic through virtual reality and HD
graphics and access to super-fast internet speeds will allow gamers to
play in any location without the cost or inconvenience of carrying
specialised hardware. AI gaming platforms will also tailor games by
making them more engaging and player relevant.

“Over the next few years, there’s going to be a huge increase in mobile
data traffic, an explosion of devices connected to mobile networks,
along with even more demand from consumers and businesses for wireless
connectivity and better performance,” said Kevin Crull, Chief Strategy
Officer at Sprint. “The investment made by the U.S. telecom industry in
delivering the world’s best 5G networks is going to be key in helping to
drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and future economic growth and is
why we must work rapidly to support the growing demand.”

Drone Delivery

The report highlights how 5G networks will enable UAVs (Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles) or drones to provide fast, low-cost, secure delivery straight
to customers’ homes. The network will help to coordinate large fleets so
that they fly safely, automatically avoiding collisions with buildings
and other drones as well as provide secure connections, authentication
and smart autonomous navigation with high-definition video backup and
recovery location in case of emergencies.

The Role of the Operator in the Americas

Mobile operators across the Americas are already making great strides in
the rollout and delivery of 5G networks. The US is set to be one of the
first countries in the world to launch 5G commercial services. with all
four US national mobile operators having announced their first
deployment plans. Mobile 5G services are expected to launch later this
year by AT&T and Verizon, with AT&T targeting twelve markets and Verizon
four. Sprint plans to launch its mobile 5G service in the first half of
2019, with nine markets announced already.

Intelligent Connectivity at Mobile World Congress Americas 2018

There will be a number of seminars and demonstrations focusing on
intelligent connectivity at the 2018 Mobile World Congress Americas.
Seminars will include ‘5G and the Intelligent Edge,’ ‘AI and
the Intelligent Edge,’ and ‘Powering the Intelligent Edge’; further
information on the seminars is available at https://www.mwcamericas.com/conference-programs/agenda/.
There will also be a number of cutting-edge demonstrations at the GSMA
Innovation City, such as The Live Hive showing how LTE-M technology can
monitor and maintain the health of Honeybees and how intelligent
healthcare systems are helping to remotely monitor patients. For more
information on the Innovation City, go to: www.mwcamericas.com/exhibition/2018-exhibitors/gsma-innovation-city/.

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting
more than 750 operators with over 350 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies,
equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in
adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading
events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai,
Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com.
Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.